Napa Auto Parts Pin-Up 

This advertisement featuring a pin-up girl for Napa Auto Parts was painted by Gil Elvgren in the mid-20th century. Elvgren was a prolific commercial artist, whose work appeared in magazines, calendars, and advertisements. The painting shows a woman dressed in a red halter top and shorts, holding a trophy and checkered flag. She is posed next to a yellow race car, and the Napa Auto Parts logo is visible on the side of the car. The image is intended to be lighthearted and humorous. The association of the Napa brand with a glamorous pin-up model tells us much about the target audience of this kind of commercial imagery, particularly in relation to the history of gender roles and the institutions of advertising. To understand these images better, historians research the archives of advertising agencies, media companies, and the records of institutions that policed and shaped the representation of women. The meaning of a painting like this is deeply contingent on its social and institutional context.